Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A32231
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His Majesties declaration to all his loving subjects, touching the causes & reasons that moved him to dissolve the two last Parliaments
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England and Wales. Sovereign (1660-1685 : Charles II); Charles II, King of England, 1630-1685.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing C3000; ESTC R13996
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3,813
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11
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His Majesties DECLARATION To all His Loving Subjects Touching The CAUSES REASONS That moved Him to Dissolve The Two last PARLIAMENTS Published by His Majesties Command DIEV ET MON DROIT HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE LONDON Printed by the Assigns of John Bill Thomas Newcomb and Henry Hills Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty 1681. His Majesties DECLARATION To all His Loving Subjects Touching The CAUSES REASONS That moved Him to Dissolve The Two last PARLIAMENTS IT was with exceeding great trouble that We were brought to the Dissolving of the Two last Parliaments without more benefit to Our People by the Calling of them But having done Our part in giving so many opportunities of providing for their Good it cannot be justly imputed to Us that the Success hath not answered Our Expectation We cannot at this time but take notice of the particular Causes of Our Dissatisfaction which at the beginning of the last Parliament We did recommend to their care to avoid and expected We should have had no new Cause to remember them We Open'd the last Parliament which was held at Westminster with as Gracious Expressions of Our readiness to satisfie the Desires of Our Good Subjects and to secure them against all their just Fears as the weighty Consideration either of preserving the Establish'd Religion and the Liberty and Property of Our Subjects at home or of Supporting Our Neighbours and Allyes abroad could fill Our heart with or possibly require from Us. And We do solemnly Declare That We did intend as far as would have consisted with the very Being of the Government to have Comply'd with any thing that could have been propos'd to Us to accomplish those Ends. We ask'd of them the Supporting the Alliances We had made for the preservation of the General Peace in Christendom We recommended to them the further Examination of the Plot We desir'd their advice and assistance concerning the preservation of Tanger We offer'd to concur in any Remedies that could be proposed for the Security of the Protestant Religion that might consist with preserving the Succession of the Crown in its due and legal Course of Descent to all which We met with most unsuitable Returns from the House of Commons Addresses in the nature of Remonstrances rather than of Answers Arbitrary Orders for taking Our Subjects into Custody for Matters that had no relation to Priviledges of Parliament Strange illegal Votes declaring divers eminent Persons to be enemies to the King and Kingdom without any Order or Process of Law any hearing of their Defence or any Proof so much as offer'd against them Besides these Proceedings they voted as followeth on the 7th of January last Resolved That whosoever shall Lend or cause to be Lent by way of Advance any Money upon the Branches of the Kings Revenue arising by Customs Excise or Hearth-money shall be adjudged to hinder the Sitting of Parliaments and shall be responsible for the same in Parliament Resolved That whosoever shall buy any Tally of Anticipation upon any part of the King's Revenue or whosoever shall pay any such Tally hereafter to be struck shall be adjudged to hinder the Sitting of Parliaments and shall be responsible for the same in Parliament Which Votes instead of giving Us Assistance to support Our Allyes or enable Us to preserve Tanger tended rather to disable Us from Contributing towards either by Our Own Revenue or Credit not onely exposing Us to all Dangers that might happen either at home or abroad but endeavouring to deprive Us of the Possibility of Supporting the Government it self and to reduce Us to a more helpless Condition then the meanest of Our Subjects And on the 10th of the same Month they past another Vote in these words Resolved That it is the Opinion of this House That the Prosecution of Protestant Dissenters upon the Penal Laws is at this time grievous to the Subject a weakening of the Protestant Interest an Encouragement to Popery and dangerous to the Peace of the Kingdom By which Vote without any regard to the Laws establish'd they assumed to themselves a Power of Suspending Acts of Parliament whereas Our Judges and Ministers of Justice neither can nor ought in reverence to the Votes of either or both the Houses break the Oathes they have taken for the due and impartial Execution of Our Laws which by Experience have been found to be the best Support both of the Protestant Interest and of the Peace of the Kingdom These were some of the unwarrantable Proceedings of that House of Commons which were the occasion of Our parting with that Parliament Which We had no sooner Dissolv'd but We caus'd another to be forthwith Assembled at Oxford at the Opening of which We thought it necessary to give Them warning of the Errors of the former in hopes to have prevented the like Miscarriages and We requir'd of Them to make the Laws of the Land their Rule as We did and do resolve they shall be Ours We further added That what We had formerly and so often Declared concerning the Succession We could not depart from But to remove all reasonable Fears that might arise from the Possibility of a Popish Successor's coming to the Crown if Means could be found that in such a Case the Administration of the Government might remain in Protestant Hands We were ready to hearken to any Expedient by which the Religion Establish'd might be Preserv'd and the Monarchy not Destroy'd But contrary to Our Offers and Expectation We saw that no Expedient would be entertain'd but that of a total Exclusion which We had so often declar'd was a Point that in Our Own Royal Judgment so nearly concern'd Us both in Honour Justice and Conscience that We could never consent to it In short We cannot after the sad Experience We have had of the late Civil Wars that Murder'd Our Father of Blessed Memory and ruin'd the Monarchy consent to a Law that shall establish another most Unnatural War or at least make it necessary to maintain a Standing Force for the Preserving the Government and the Peace of the Kingdom And We have reason to believe by what pass'd in the last Parliament at Westminster that if We could have been brought to give Our Consent to a Bill of Exclusion the Intent was not to rest there but to pass further and to attempt some other Great and Important Changes even in Present The Business of Fitz-Harris who was Impeach'd by the House of Commons of High Treason and by the House of Lords referr'd to the ordinary Course of Law was on the sudden carried on to that extremity by the Votes which the Commons pass'd on the 26th of March last that there was no possibility left of a Reconciliation The Votes were these Die Sabbati 26º Martii post Meridiem Resolved That it is the undoubted Right of the Commons in Parliament Assembled to Impeach before the Lords in Parliament any Peer or Commoner for Treason or any other
Crime or Misdemeanor and that the refusal of the Lords to proceed in Parliament upon such Impeachment is a denial of Justice and a violation of the Constitution of Parliaments Resolved That in the case of Edward Fitz-Harris who by the Commons hath been Impeach'd of High Treason before the Lords with a Declaration That in convenient time they would bring up the Articles against him for the Lords to Resolve That the said Fitz-Harris should be proceeded with according to the course of Common Law and not by way of Impeachment at this time is a Denial of Justice and a Violation of the Constitution of Parliaments and an Obstruction to the further Discovery of the Popish Plot and of great danger to His Majesties Person and the Protestant Religion Resolved That for any Inferiour Court to Proceed against Edward Fitz-Harris or any other Person lying under an Impeachment in Parliament for the same Crimes for which he or they stand Impeach'd is a high Breach of the Priviledge of Parliament It was a Matter extremely sensible to Us to find an Impeachment made use of to delay a Tryal that We had directed against a profess'd Papist charg'd with Treasons against Us of an extraordinary Nature And certainly the House of Peers did themselves Right in refusing to give countenance to such a Proceeding But when either of the Houses are so far transported as to Vote the Proceedings of the other to be a Denial of Justice a Violation of the Constitution of Parliaments of Danger to Our Person and the Protestant Religon without Conferences first had to examine upon what Grounds such Proceedings were made and how far they might be justified This puts the two Houses out of capacity of transacting business together and consequently is the greatest Violation of the Constitution of Parliaments This was the Case and every day's continuance being like to produce new Instances of further Heat and Anger between the two Houses to the disappointment of all Publick Ends for which they were Call'd We found it necessary to put an end to this Parliament likewise But notwithstanding all this let not the restless Malice of ill Men who are labouring to poyson Our People some out of fondness of their Old Beloved Commonwealth-Principles and some out of anger at their being disappointed in the particular Designs they had for the accomplishment of their own Ambition and Greatness perswade any of Our Good Subjects that We intend to lay aside the use of Parliaments For We do still Declare That no Irregularities in Parliaments shall ever make Us out of Love with Parliaments which We look upon as the best Method for healing the Distempers of the Kingdom and the onely Means to preserve the Monarchy in that due Credit and Respect which it ought to have both at home and abroad And for this Cause We are Resolved by the Blessing of God to have frequent Parliaments and both in and out of Parliament to use Our utmost Endeavours to extirpate Popery and to Redress all the Grievances of Our good Subjects and in all things to Govern according to the Laws of the Kingdom And We hope that a little time will so far open the Eyes of all Our good Subjects that Our next meeting in Parliament shall perfect all that Settlement and Peace which shall be found wanting either in Church or State To which as We shall Contribute Our utmost Endeavours so We assure Our Self That We shall be Assisted therein by the Loyalty and good Affections of all those who consider the Rise and Progress of the late Troubles and Confusions and desire to preserve their Countrey from a Relapse And who cannot but remember That Religion Liberty and Property were all lost and gone when the Monarchy was shaken off and could never be reviv'd till that was restored Given at Our Court at Whitehall the Eighth day of April 1681. At the Court at Whitehall April the Eighth 1681. IT is this day Ordered by His Majesty in Council That this Declaration be forthwith Printed and Published and Read in all Churches and Chappels throughout this Kingdom Francis Gwyn